My husband and I attended the Taking Control of Your Diabetes (TCOYD) patient conference in April but the is the first chance I’ve had to do a write-up about the event. The patient program divided into tracks for T1s and T2s in the afternoon but the opening sessions were for everyone (including health care providers, who had their own track). Family members and caregivers also participated in the event.
The opening sessions featured talks by Drs. Edelman (who is T1) and Polanski. They were both warm and engaging, used humor appropriately to help make their points, and recognized and encouraged all of us PWDs for our daily efforts to manage diabetes. This was my first time being in a roomful of people “like me”–who get what it’s all about, who laugh at the D jokes (which my husband didn’t quite always get) and struggle not to judge themselves when the numbers aren’t where we want to be. I found this to be very reassuring and deeply moving…and I felt much less alone.
The T1 workshop sessions focused a lot using tech in D management, for example, a presentation for people considering CGM for the first time and also one for current users on how to do more with the data. A workshop on problem-solving hypos and hypers elicited lots of questions and discussions. The presenter was a doctor who used his own CGM traces–even the pros ride the roller coaster sometimes! Another talk focused on the importance of checking basal doses through testing and also pre-bolusing for meals (which a lot of insulin users still don’t do). There were a lot of positive comments on Afrezza (inhaled insulin) and also some discussion of low/lower carb eating and “sugar surfing”.
Speaking of meals, the program booklet listed the carb content for snacks and meals, also that gluten-free and vegetarian options were available. Beverages were available all day in the exhibition hall (water, unsweetened iced tea, sugar-free lemonade, and coffee). The program also listed snack and mealtimes to help with bolusing.
Many D vendors set up shop in the exhibition hall, also University of Utah diabetes clinic and research providers. I spoke at length with one of the Afrezza reps (a new rep has been assigned to my region–yay!) and also one of the Omnipod reps (yep, I am going to give pumping a try!) CDEs were available for one-on-one consults as well as a team offering foot screening. An afternoon group on pregnancy and diabetes met in the hall after lunch. There were also opportunities to learn some gentle yoga and qi gong and to enjoy a cooking class on healthy eating. This event truly offered something for everybody!
I’m really glad we went to this event despite the horrible weather that weekend in SLC (drenching, icy rain that knocked the blossoms off the ornamental trees). My husband is used to seeing me do all my D stuff but realizing just how many people do the same stuff as me was a bit of an eye opener for him. He has been totally supportive since my DX, for which I am very grateful, but now he has a little more context for my struggles with all things D.